- tie up in knots
- make someone very nervous or worried
He was tied up in knots before the speech at the convention.
Idioms and examples. 2014.
tie up in knots
Look at other dictionaries:
tie yourself in knots — informal phrase to become very confused or worried because you are in a difficult situation I was tying myself in knots trying to explain what happened without getting him into trouble. Thesaurus: to worry or feel nervous about somethingsynonym… … Useful english dictionary
tie up in knots — ► tie (up) in knots informal confuse completely. Main Entry: ↑knot … English terms dictionary
tie someone in knots — I tie someone (up) in knots informal make someone completely confused they tied themselves in knots over what to call the country II tie someone (up) in knots see knot I … Useful english dictionary
tie yourself in knots — informal to become very confused or worried because you are in a difficult situation I was tying myself in knots trying to explain what happened without getting him into trouble … English dictionary
tie oneself into knots — be involved in trouble, be in a difficult situation … English contemporary dictionary
tie in knots — ► tie (up) in knots informal confuse completely. Main Entry: ↑knot … English terms dictionary
tie — tie1 [ taı ] (present participle ty|ing) verb *** 1. ) transitive to fasten two ends of a piece of string, rope, etc. together with a knot: Sally bent down to tie her shoelaces. We re teaching him how to tie a necktie. a ) transitive to fasten… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
tie — [[t]ta͟ɪ[/t]] ♦♦ ties, tying, tied 1) VERB If you tie two things together or tie them, you fasten them together with a knot. [V n adv/prep] He tied the ends of the plastic bag together... [V n] Mr Saunders tied her hands and feet. 2) VERB If you… … English dictionary
tie — I UK [taɪ] / US verb Word forms tie : present tense I/you/we/they tie he/she/it ties present participle tying past tense tied past participle tied *** 1) [transitive] to make a knot with two ends of a piece of string, rope etc Sally bent down to… … English dictionary
tie yourself up in knots — tie yourself (up) in knots 1 : to cause problems for yourself because you are being too careful, trying too hard, etc. The mayor tied himself in knots answering a touchy political question. [=he answered it in a confused or unclear way] 2 : to… … Useful english dictionary
